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'James O'Barr' (born 1960, Detroit, Michigan) is the creator of the comic book series, ''The Crow''.

Contents

Life and work

Bibliography

External links

Life and work

O'Barr was an orphan and was raised in the foster care system. He studied Renaissance sculpture, live models and photographic still lifes. He currently resides in Texas. James is the biological father of two children; Erik (born in 1992 from a second marriage) and Noelle (from a fourth marriage).
When James' fiancée Bethany had been killed by a drunk driver, he joined the Marines in an effort to cope with his devastating loss. He was stationed in Germany and illustrated combat manuals for the military. While living in Berlin, Germany in 1981, O'Barr began work on The Crow, as a means of dealing with his personal tragedy. O'Barr was further inspired by a Detroit newspaper account of the senseless murder of a young couple over a $20 engagement ring. After his discharge from the Marines, O'Barr continued his painting and illustration as well as doing lots of odd jobs, including working for a Detroit body shop. At first, no one was interested in ''The Crow'', so it sat on a shelf for seven years, but at last someone wanted to publish it: Gary Reed of Caliber Press. In ''The Crow'', the protagonist and his fiancée die in a similarly brutal crime. He then returns from the dead to hunt their killers.
O'Barr's own hope that his project would result in a personal catharsis went unfulfilled, he told an interviewer in 1994 [1]. "(A)s I drew each page, it made me more self-destructive, if anything," he was quoted as saying. "There is pure anger on each page." "The Crow" is the best selling independent black and white graphic novel to date. It has sold more than a 1/4 million copies world-wide.
The book was adapted into a movie of the same name but it resulted in further tragedy. Brandon Lee, who played the main character to critical acclaim, was accidentally shot and killed during the making of the movie. This was 17 days before Lee's scheduled wedding. James was a close friend and confidant and saw Brandon as a brother figure. On Lee's death, and referring to his fiancée, Eliza Hutton, O'Barr said, "I relived the same pain and anger as before. I wished I had never written the thing."
O'Barr said he felt guilty about the money he made from the movie. He used the money for international children's organizations, and hip replacement surgery for a 10 year old Brazilian girl.
James O'Barr is heralded as a legendary comic icon whose masterpiece changed the face of the ''Goth'' subculture. He was the second American to be awarded the coveted "Storyteller Award" by the International Comic Festival held annually in Angoulême, France.

Bibliography

KEY

a = adapted by

c = cover by

bc = back cover by

e = edited by

p = pin-up

ip = interior pencils by

ii = interior inks by

ia = interior art by (pencils+inks or painted art)

s = story by

w = written by

Note: If no letters are indicated, all of the above are by O'Barr. All dates refer to first printings.

'Comic Books'

Andi: Sibling #1 (Sabre's Edge, 2001) (bc)

Best of Northstar #1 (Northstar, Aug 1992) (ia, w)

Black Dominion #1 (Anubis Press, July 1993) (p)

Black Dominion #1a (Anubis Press, July 1993) (p)

Bone Saw #1 (Tundra, 1992) (a, e, ia, w)

Caliber Christmas, A (Caliber Press, Dec 1989) (c, ia, w)

Caliber Presents #1 (Caliber Press, Jan 1989) (bc, ia, w)

Caliber Presents #2 (Caliber Press, Mar 1989) (c, ia)

Caliber Presents #3 (Caliber Press, May 1989) (c, ia, w)

Caliber Presents #5 (Caliber Press, July 1989) (c, ia)

Caliber Presents #15 (Caliber Press, Sept 1990) (ia)

Choke, The #2 (Anubis Press, Aug 1993) (c, ia, w)

Choke, The #2a (Anubis Press, Aug 1993) (ia, w)

Crow, The #0 (Kitchen Sink Press, Dec 1998)

Crow, The #1 (Caliber Press, Feb 1989)

Crow, The #2 (Caliber Press, Mar 1989)

Crow, The #3 (Caliber Press, Aug 1989)

Crow, The #4 (Caliber Press, 1989)

Crow, The Vol I (Tundra, Jan 1992)

Crow, The Vol II (Tundra, Mar 1992)

Crow, The Vol III (Tundra, May 1992)

Crow, The HARDCOVER (Graphitti Designs,1993, Limited to 1,500 copies)

Crow, The TPB (Kitchen Sink Press, 1993)

Crow, The TPB (Pocket Books, 2002)

Crow: Dead Time, The #1 (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, Jan 1996) (c, s)

Crow: Dead Time, The #2 (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, Feb 1996) (c, s)

Crow: Dead Time, The #3 (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, Mar 1996) (c, s)

Crow: Dead Time, The TPB (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics) (bc, s)

Crow: Flesh & Blood, The #1 (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, May 1996) (c)

Crow: Flesh & Blood, The #2 (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, June 1996) (c)

Crow: Flesh & Blood, The #3 (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, July 1996) (c)

Crow: Flesh & Blood, The TPB (Kitchen Sink Press/Top Dollar Comics, 1996) (bc)

Crow: Flesh & Blood, The TPB (Dark Horse Comics, 2004)(b&w versions of original covers)

Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain #1 (London Night Studios/Top Dollar Comics, Apr 1998) (c)

Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain #2 (London Night Studios/Top Dollar Comics, May 1998) (c)

Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain #3 (London Night Studios/Top Dollar Comics, July 1998) (c)

Cybernetic Liberation Front #1 (Anubis Press, 1993) (c)

Dark Angel #20a (CPM Manga, 2000)(c)

Dark Fantasies #3 (Dark Fantasy Productions, 1994) (c)

Dark Fantasies #3a (red foil) (Dark Fantasy Productions, 1994) (c)

Dark Horse Presents #61 (Dark Horse Comics, Apr 1992) (ia, w)

Dead Boys #1 (London Night Studios, 1993) (c)

Dead Boys #1a (gold) (London Night Studios, 1993) (c)

Dead Boys #1b (platinum) (London Night Studios, 1993) (c)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #10 Graphic (Caliber Press, Nov 1988) (bc, ii)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #10 Tame (Caliber Press, Nov 1988) (bc, c, ii)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #11 Tame (Caliber Press, Apr 1989) (c)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #12 Tame (Caliber Press, Jun 1989) (c)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #13 Tame (Caliber Press, July 1989) (c)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #14 Tame (Caliber Press, Mar 1990) (c)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #16 Tame (Caliber Press, 1990) (c)

Deadworld (vol. 1) #17 Tame (Caliber Press, 1990) (c)

Death Rattle (vol. 2) #3 (Kitchen Sink Press, Feb 1996) (c, ia)

Freaks Amour #2 (Dark Horse Comics, Sept 1992) (c)

Fugitive #1 (Caliber Press, Oct 1989) (ia)

Godhead Vol 2 (Anubis, Mar 1993) (c)

Hard Looks #3 (Dark Horse Comics, July 1992) (a, c, ia)

Hard Looks #9 (Dark Horse Comics, July 1993) (a, ia)

Hard Looks: Adapted Stories TPB (Dark Horse Comics) (a, ia)

Hard Looks: Hard Boiled TPB (Dark Horse Comics) (a, ia)

Harpy Pin-Up Special #1 (Peregrine Entertainment, April 1998) (c)

Independent Voices #3 (Peregrine Entertainment, Aug 2001) (c w/ Joseph Michael Linsner)

Kabuki Images (Image Comics, June 1998) (p)

Monster Massacre (Atomeka, 1993) (p)

Monster Massacre: Silver Edition (Atomeka, 1993) (p)

Monster Massacre Special #1 (Blackball Comics, 1993) (ia, w)

Necromancer #2 (Anarchy Press, 1993) (bc)

Necromancer #2 Ashcan (Anarchy Press, 1993) (c)

Northstar 5th Anniversary Special #1 (Northstar, Mar 1995) (p)

Northstar Presents #1: James O'Barr (Northstar, Oct 1994)

Northstar Presents #1a: James O'Barr (gold) (Northstar, April 1995)

Original Sins #1 (ACG, 1999)

Pink Dust: Morphine Dreams #1 (Kitchen Sink Press, Aug 1998)

Razor #2 (London Night Studios, Feb 1993) (c)

Razor: Tour of Fear (London Night Studios, 1993) (bc)

Ride, The: Inertia's Kiss Sketchbook (12 Gague Comics, 2006)

San Diego Comic Con Comics #2 (Dark Horse, 1993) (p)

Savages #1 (Peregrine Entertainment, Sept 2001)

Slash #1 (Northstar, Aug 1992) (c, ia, w)

Slash #1a (red foil) (Northstar, Aug 1992) (bc, c, ia, w)

Slash #2 (Northstar, Nov 1992) (c, ia, w)

Slash #3 (Northstar, Feb 1993) (c)

Tasty Bits #1 (ACG, 1999)

Vesper #1a (Acetylene, 2001) (c & bc w/ Hannibal King)

Vesper #2a (Acetylene, 2001) (c)

'Magazines'

Cobalt 60 Book 3 (Tundra, May 1992) (p)

Crow/Razor: Nocturnal Masque (London Night Studios/Top Dollar Comics, Feb 1999)(b&w versions of original covers)

Gasm #4 (Stories, Layout, & Press, Apr 1978) (ia, w)

Heavy Metal, Sept. 1993 (Metal Mammoth, Sept 1993) (ia)

Horror: The Illustrated Book of Fears #2 (Northstar, Feb 1990) (a, ia, w)

Savage Tales (vol. 2) #4 (Marvel Comics, Apr 1986) (ia, w)

Terra X #1 (Insta-Graphics) (c, ia)

'Books'

Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams, The (Del Ray/Ballantine Publishing, 1998) (ia, w)

Dante's Disciples (White Wolf Publishing, Sept 1998) (introduction)

Life and Death in Black, White and Blue: Poems and Stories (PublishAmerica, April 2006) (c)

External links

★ The novel page from thecrow.info

★ The official fan site for James O'Barr

★ The Crow Chamberoom, The official Crow and James O'Barr forum

★ CrowFans.com - An Online Community for fans of "The Crow"

★ TV Bio

★ James O'Barr's MySpace

★ James O'Barr interview

★ James O'Barr Lambiek summary